FOI requests are under Labor’s knife. It’s reasons why are shoddy

Attorney General Michelle Rowland will have difficulty in convincing the public to support Labor plan Limiting Australia’s system of freedom of knowledge.

Most people who use FOI demands to get documents from the government will probably accept that the system is flawed. Crirase In 2023, he devoted a series of a series of; The package service was that the clogging tactics used by the departments to prevent information demands, as we have provided a Senate investigation, created a feeling of olma too administrative torture to be democratic.

Very few people claim that the problem of the FOI system is very generous. Nevertheless, in Rowland’s speech, the arguments, which he introduced his new bill to Parliament on Wednesday morning, boiled it.

According to Rowland, some of the aim of the bill is to establish an appropriate balance in providing such access between the access rights of an applicant and the sources of taxpayers ”. For this purpose, wages will be applied to the requests, a 40 -hour processing hat will be introduced and applicants will be asked to identify themselves as well as other changes.

According to Rowland, these changes are necessary for “large quantities of annoying, abusive and meaningless desires ilen activated by new technologies such as artificial intelligence. He also said that there is a risk of “exploitation” to seek the FOI system of “open marine actors” FOI system “potentially the information kept by the government for treacherous purposes”.

But Rowland’s office announced Crirase After the conversation, there was no example for this to happen.

Later, a spokesman sent an explanation, saying that the government could not disclose the secret information provided by the National Intelligence Community ”.

“However, what we know, [national intelligence community]It is not rare to define legitimate ways or processes (such as FOI) to paint a picture of intelligence and to use a picture of intelligence in a form of intelligence.

Bill Browne, Director of Democracy and Accounting of the Australian Institute, was not convinced. “The claim that foreign actors and criminal gangs can put requests for freedom of information seems to be a particularly long bow because it reveals the information that should be open to the public.” Crikey. “They have no power to force the government to release everything that it is inappropriate for the people to know.”

When it comes to the claim that the boots took floods with meaningless requests, Rowland said in an interview to the ABC Radio in the early hours of the morning and that the Esanty Commissioner Office was filled with the demands of the Agency’s services for more than two months ”. (Guardian Australia Technology reporter Josh Taylor speculated This Rowland was referring to a campaign from the Australians to deliver the data that the agency could keep in social media handles of the Agency.)

Perhaps Rowland says he never mentioned journalists in his speech to parliament.

While 72% of the general FOI demands in the 2023-24 fiscal year are made by individuals who want to access their personal information, the most remarkable users of the FOI system are media professionals who want to make accurate reports about the information that the government does not want to disclose. If the government wants to alleviate the workload about responding to these demands, can it relax instead of boring information?

Accordingly Research conducted by the Australian InstituteAccording to the latest data, the cost of dealing with FOI demands has increased rapidly in the last 20 single years and reached approximately 90 million dollars a year. Meanwhile, the total FOI requests resolved fell to record levels.

Brow The idea that governments should publish information proactively, is the principle of proactive disclosure to the origins of our federal FO system system.

In the ABC Radio interview, the host Sabra Lane told Rowland that “the Liberals and the Greens told the bill that they would oppose the bill ,, that is, the government will“ change or have to leave it ”.

Rowland’s response was “political art”.

“The truth here, we will direct this to a Senate Discussion and Ventilation Committee orum I am looking forward to an incomplete discussion on this issue,” he said. “Again, as with everyone I have informed about this, including Crossbench, I ask that they give a clear idea, not only for individuals, but also for public officials.”

As a party that has promised the government to promise more transparency, the Labor Party has a lot of work to convince its rivals in parliament and the public, that these reforms are the right way.